Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)

Whether we like fracking or not, whether we like GM food or not, whether we like to shop locally or not, will make no difference if the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement goes through. This agreement is currently being negotiated by the US with the EU.

Companies suing governments for billions? Special tribunals behind closed doors? Secret negotiations? This short World Development Movement video highlights the issues and how environmental campaigns will be at risk. watch this video

Heard of Investor State Dispute Settlements ? – a kind of arbitration body, which is entirely unelected and unrepresentative, by which national governments, and regional and local authorities, can be taken to court by private companies and made to pay compensation if they have prevented these companies investing.

This is not in the future. This is now. These partnership agreements already exist elsewhere in the world – hence Australia and Brazil paying tobacco company Philip Morris, Equador paying oil company Chevron, Canada paying pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly – all for loss of investment/profits. So if a government legislates against tobacco, or the destruction of the rainforest, or expensive and unnecessary medicines, they will be at financial risk.

Essentially this is loss of sovereignty of governments world wide and increased power to the multinationals, who by the way, are mainly responsible for the drawing up of these agreements.

Most MPs and MEPs do know even know about this, and this is how the multinationals like it. It has had a very low profile in the press, the exception being George Monbiot in the Guardian: